Netflix’s ‘The Get Down’ Cancelled After One Season

This is definitely sad news for fans of such a groundbreaking show.

The television world is still deciding on renewals and cancellations for the upcoming 2017-2018 TV season and with that comes a lot of shows that will unfortunately get the ax. The latest causality is the critically-acclaimed musical drama series The Get Down, which has been just been cancelled by streaming giant Netflix after just one season.

When it premiered in August 2016, The Get Down, executive-produced by hip-hop legend Nas, instantly attracted tons of loyal fans and critics who praised the show’s visual, musical and historical content. Telling the story of the birth of hip-hop in New York City in the late 70’s during the last days of disco, The Get Down not only attracted viewers who lived through the era, but younger ones as well who wanted to learn the history of hip-hop.

With the recent second half of the first season premiering just under two months ago, this comes as a shock to many. Industry insider Deadline was the first to break the news about the show’s cancellation and reports that the show’s outrageous budget ($120 million for one season) coupled with series creator Baz Luhrmann’s desire to get back to filmmaking, could be the reason for the cancellation.

The full report states:

Netflix has opted not to proceed with a second season of Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious musical drama ‘The Get Down.’ The decision comes after the second six-episode part of Season 1 was released last month. It is a rare Netflix original series not to get a second season.

The hip-hop-themed drama, set in the South Bronx section of New York City in the late 1970s, was among Netflix’s most expensive shows, with the 12-episode first season costing about $120 million. ‘The Get Down,’ marked Luhrmann’s [first foray into the world of] TV.

In a Facebook post following the cancellation today, Luhrmann indicated that him not being able to commit to Season 2 full-time was a key reason for the decision. “This exclusivity has understandably become a sticking point for Netflix and Sony, who have been tremendous partners and supporters of the show. It kills me that I can’t split myself into two and make myself available to both productions… But the simple truth is, I make movies.”

This is indeed sad for fans of the show, who have already taken to social media and got the hashtag #RenewTheGetDown trending as soon as the news of cancellation broke. Perhaps another network could pick up the series, like HBO who has dabbled in musical dramas before.